let's turn over this log. yeah! both: whoa! i like the big black ones. i like the brown wiggly ones. mmm. i like the green crunchy ones myself. whoa. explore nature. there are surprises everywhere. go to discovertheforest.org. jonathan karl has more. >> you betcha. >> reporter: republican leaders had called her a fraud, a liar, unelectable. but now they have to call

christine o'donnell republican nominee for senate. >> i didn't count on the establishment to win the primary. i'm not counting on them to win the general. i'm counting on the voters of delaware. >> reporter: privately, republican leaders say o'donnell's victory means they can't win in delaware and probably can't win control of the senate, either. but the only senator who supported o'donnell says his party's leadership had it coming. >> i've been in the majority with republicans who didn't have principles. and we embarrassed ourselves and lost credibility in front of the country. frankly, i'm at a point where i'd rather lose fighting for the right cause than win fighting for the wrong cause. >> reporter: now party leaders are trying to make nice. chairman michael steele endorsed her, and so did the senate republican leadership. but republican guru karl rove continued to attack o'donnell, even after she won. >> why did she mislead voters about her college education? how come it took her nearly two

decades to pay her college bill so she could get her college degree? how did she make a living -- >> reporter: on abc's "top line" the head of the group tea party express shot back. >> karl should stay out of it. these seats don't belong to the republican party or to these states, the state parties. they belong to the people. >> reporter: the tea party movement has now swept aside gop establishment candidates in seven states. democrats believe this has produced outside the mainstream republican nominees who will be easier to beat in nofr. maybe. but don't count on it. >> if the democrats think that the tea party folks are mad at republicans, just wait till they see what happens when november the 2nd comes around and they get a shot at the democratic incumbents. >> reporter: jonathan karl, abc news, capitol hill. and with that here's a look now at your weather. the midwest dries out today. but severe storms from nashville across ohio and into the great lakes. they move into the northeast tonight. showers in the northwest.

and southern florida, thunderstorms in the texas panhandle. >> a cool 63 in minneapolis. 67 in chicago. atlanta is 88. slightly above average farther north. baltimore is 81. new york 77. in the west sacramento is 84, and phoenix is still hot at 107. everybody's going to love this story here. cantankerous donkey named poppy lives on a small farm in paradise, california with a number of other animals. poppy does pretty much only what she wants to. but two weeks ago she became a hero. >> apparently, in the middle of the night a mountain lie hn grabbed a goat buttermilk to try and drag her away but poppy just wouldn't stand for. he should charged the lion, braying loudly, until it ran away. >> buttermilk the goat was saved, and the two, well, they've been inseparable ever since. >> i know what you're all wondering. >> more news right after this. ♪ keep smiling ♪ keep shining ♪ knowing you can always count on me ♪ ♪ for sure

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the futu the future of the diet pill

meridia sits in limbo this morning after an fda panel's vote was split right down the middle on the drug's fate. 8 voted for and 8 voted against, pulling the appetite suppression drug after the market. that is after questions about its link to heart attack and stroke. meridia is prescribed by many doctors treating obese patients. those looking to lose an inch here and there can try a new treatment that's been just approved by the fda. >> it freezes flab and helps people look much leave leaner. as diana alvear reports, it is a koz met i can procedure and not a cure for obesity. >> reporter: a runner, nick could never get rid of his love handles. so he turned to zeltique. here he is before and after the procedure. >> i like the results. i really do. >> reporter: here's how it works. technicians use a gel patch to get a good connection on the fat. >> no pain or anything like that. it's like putting a clothes pin on your side. >> reporter: it freezes the fat

cells, causing them to self-destruct and be reabsorbed into the oddy. another mkt, zarona, is a low-powered laser that is aimed at trouble spots, causing the fat cells to collapse in a matter of weeks. >> this is a big deal. it's the first time the fda has cleared a non-invasive fat reduction technology. >> reporter: former dancer lisa petaniak spent $1500 to have some of her excess fat frozen. >> at first it was a strange pulling feeling and a little painful, and after about five or ten minutes you basically get numb. >> reporter: she said she's happy with the results, losing about half an inch off her abdomen. zeltique was initially approved by the fda to anesthetize and cool the skin before dermatology procedures. despite its newly approved use, doctors say overweight patients shouldn't expect too much. >> it's not going to make someone who's obese not obese. the idea is there are certain areas that really don't respond well to exercise. >> reporter: still, the results have been good enough for nick. he plans another treatment.

>> this is the area that i'm going to probably do next, is right there. >> reporter: obesity experts are wary of these new techniques. they say they only target the fat near the surface of your body, not the more harmful kind deeper down. diana alvear, abc news, los angeles. >> i guess the benefit of that is it's a lot less invasive than liposuction. that's a good benefit i guess. >> when i was working in denver i guess they had just come out with a procedure so this is about three years ago where they can take your fat and shape it into abs. they take what you have and shape it into that. so it seems like there's all new kinds of procedures if you're just looking for cosmetic, you know, concerns. >> and of course there's always old faithful, diet and exercise. if you can pull it off the old-fashioned way. but you know, whatever works, right? tremendous waves that

well, they can be more than 100 feet tall. they have immeasurable power. and they can kill before the victim even knows what happened. >> they are rogue waves. and one author paddled to the mouth of the mystical beast to understand what they are. here's bob woodruff. >> reporter: they are the giants of the ocean. deadly, hard to predict, and maybe more common than you think. >> watch out. >> reporter: the crew of "the deadliest catch encountered them. but it's not just fishermen who suffer poseidon's wrath. so do students on the popular school program semester at sea. and spectators get a shocking ride at a mavericks surfing competition. >> is there anybody else hurt? >> for the longest time no one even knew they were out there. >> they hadn't been seen before?

>> no, they hadn't been seen. they'd been rumored to exist but nobody believed those stories. >> reporter: susan casey, an author and a journalist who has been covering surfing for years, became fascinated with rogue waves. because she couldn't get over one little-known fact. >> sometimes these ships don't even have time to send an s.o.s. signal. that's pretty common. >> because the wave comes so fast? >> yeah. just suddenly, boom. >> reporter: she discovered that ships disappear in the ocean without a trace every single week. >> do we know how many of them were destroyed by waves and -- >> they don't exactly because they're just gone. ♪ >> reporter: while researching her new book "the waves," she decided to follow someone who heads straight into the jaws of some of the ocean's most dangerous walls of water. >> i always tell people, you know, dinosaurs are dead but big waves aren't, and to see a wave that's 80 or 100 feet and be out in those waves, it's like being amongst the -- you know, amongst the dinosaurs.

>> reporter: laird hamilton is a big wave surfer who has tackled waves no one thought possible. >> oh! >> last winter in hawaii was as big a winter as we've ever seen. >> reporter: bigger storms, meaning bigger waves. some of the biggest swells on record. >> i can say i've been waiting a few decades to have a winter like this. >> look at this one. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: but it's not only climbing the highest mountains. >> it's a little like ballet. you know, there's so much to do. even the most minute movement is something to be refined. >> reporter: what laird really wants are the really big ones. >> waves that were bigger than 100 feet. >> how did you find those? all in hawaii? >> they came to us. unpredicted, by the way. unforecasted. >> reporter: loch reedy was the first mate on a 45-foot sailboat when he made his 16th trip across the atlantic to bermuda. he knew he might encounter stormy weather, but the forecast did not prepare him for hurricane-force winds. >> this one giant wave came crashing down on the boat, and

never saw it. never heard it. it just happened. and it just engulfed the boat. it rolled the boat upside down. >> reporter: all indications say it was the dreaded rogue. and the conditions were ripe for that monster wave that towers over its neighbors. and if loch was swept into the tempestuous cauldron, he bobbed up and down swells 30 feet and higher. >> i was down under so deep not some waves that my ears actually hurt. >> reporter: the boat's captain, thomas ty, was also swept overboard. he died at sea in loch's arms. after 24 harrowing hours the coast guard and a commercial ship managed a daring rescue amidst the rough seas. in truth, scientists still don't understand what's causing such huge waves. all they really know is that they happen in deep water with strong winds and flowing currents. >> and are they changing a lot because of global warming? >> well, hotter water means expanded, higher sea level. i think of it as this way.

like everything in the ocean is rising right now. temperatures, sea level, tsunami risks. the oceans are just more and more volatile all the time. >> i don't conquer them. i get to -- i'm amongst them. >> do you celebrate when you're at the very top of the wave? >> very mildly. i don't celebrate too much. i'm thankful. >> reporter: thankful to experience the giants and live to talk about it. >> reminds me of "the perfect storm." remember that movie in those waves. >> wow. it's impressive also because i think it speaks a lot about laird hamilton himself. he is 46 years old, which i found really impressive. maybe the rogue waves are the secret because they may be the fountain of youth. and in case you're wondering the book which you heard in the story called "the wave" has just been released. it's $27.95. and you can see both susan and laird on "good morning america" later this morning. and you can check out that fine physique there. >> i know what caught your eye. coming up, the trouble defining

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♪ well, finally, this half hour, the modern family. for years the common american family included of course the wife, husband, and two kids. >> new research shows the common american family isn't too common anymore. and as john berman reports, family means different things to different people. ♪ >> reporter: there's the addams family, the first family, my family, and the partridge family. ♪ i think i love you all called family. but what counts as family? >> what we find is that people are moving away from a traditional definition of family. and they're moving towards a modern definition of family. >> reporter: the modern family indeed comes in many combinations. nearly 100% of us agree a

husband, wife, and kids counts as a family. no kids? 92% say that's a family. those kids make a difference. >> children provides us, quote, guarantee that move you to family status. >> reporter: for instance, an unmarried man and woman living together. >> hey. >> hi. >> reporter: under 40% say that's a family. give them kids -- [ baby crying ] -- it jumps to 83%. that's up 5% since 2003. a gay couple. 33% say that's a family. with kids? 64%. a 10% jump in just the last seven years. >> people right now are really reevaluating their views this same-sex couples. >> reporter: what about pets? [ dog barking ] more than half of us say they're in the family. but two guys living as roommates -- ♪ -- sorry, felix. just 10% say they're family. in the end when it comes to

defining family ties and determining family matters, you might say it's all in the family. ♪ those were the days because 60% of us now say if you consider yourself a family you are a family. welcome. and hold on tight. john berman, abc news, new york. >> i any that term modern family is now so synonymous with the show. and the creators even say the way they came up with it, sitting in an office talk about their two own families and thought why don't we do something that's a mockumentary because every family -- >> is different these days. >> including mine. >> absolutely. we have photos to share this morning too. >> you're going to notice on this photo i was -- oh, they fixed it. it's foeltly off center p but fixed it. it's foeltly off center p but that's i touched the ball before it went out, coach. come on, alex, the ref did not call that! i touched, it's their ball. don't foul them when they inbound. team!

alex! good call. good call. [vibrates] g morning, sunshine. wakey, wakey. text me back. [chattering] [vibrates] hey.

did you tell your parents about us? let's skip first period together. did you get all my texts? is practice over yet? where you at? are you with your friends? that's laaaa-mee. capital "x," lower-case "o," capital "x," lower-case "o," i love you. jk. i hate you. jk. are you ignoring me? we're in a huge fight right now. is it something i did? i can see your lights on. i'm coming over. this isn't a joke. what did you dream about? [overlapping] is it me? i'm lonely. holla back. holla back. let's try something new. nude pics. send me some. text me. political fight.

mainstream republicans confront new tea party candidates. what's in it for the democrats? then, chilling testimony. a doctor who survived a violent home invasion tells a jury about his escape and his murdered family. and higher ground. a fearless mountain climber reaching for the top. >> blastoff on el cap. >> with lessons for us all. it's thursday september 16th. and if you want to be inspired this morning, that is the story you should watch. what an amazing guy. unbelievable. >> to say the least. >> yeah. good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm vinita nair. there is a call for republican unity now that tea party candidates have made strong advances in primary elections. >> sarah palin says republicans should now put aside their

differences and focus on winning in november. but that is not enough to convince many in the gop. john hendren is in washington now with the latest. good morning, john. >> good morning, vinita and rob. republican leaders are still stunned at the beating their party favorites took at the hands of tea party activists in the primaries. now they're looking ahead to november and trying to mend fences. republican leaders called her a loose cannon. >> i mean, there's just a lot of nutty things she's been saying. >> reporter: they called her unelectable. >> and if she were by some miracle to be our nominee, that we would lose this seat and lose it by unprecedented numbers. >> reporter: now they're calling her their standard bearer. >> i look forward to electing christine the next senator fro the state o del >> reporter: the republican establishment is reaching out outsiders and tea party candidates like o'donnell, who beat their gop favorites in the primary. >> these folks who turned out and voted for christine

o'donnell are the very people that they neeinov >> reporter: candidates know party'sve b mon ve besto >> so if thyweru bo winning, we could r damage done and move forward. winning, we could r damage done and move forward. >> reporter: the lone sen coming. >> i've been in the majority with republicans who didn't have principles, and we embarrassed ourselves and lost credibility in front of the country. >> reporter: democrats are downright gleeful. >> the republicans in delaware nominaebodhey don't believe can win. i think in the words of the state party chair, uldn >> reporter: tea party republican stan seven states. democrats think they've got a better shot at beating these outsiders in novembe but as any republican leader could telem, es vinita and rob? so just who is most likely to support the tea party? our latest abc news poll finds those who see the party favorably are likely republican, conservative, and disapprove of the president and congress. chief political correspondent george stephanopoulos has some

more insight. >> the number of people who are going to vote in november who support the tea party is growing. take a look at these numbers. 44% of likely voters have a favorable opinion of the tea party. nearly a quarter of y voters, more than qrt have a y ave opinion of the tea party. and then take a clook t theieve 92% believe the democrats in congress don't deserve re-election. 96% -- it's almost impossible to get numbers that high -- disapprove of the job that president obama is doing. so going back to what republic senator cornyn said, these tea party voters may not like republicans, but they hate the democrats. >> george also tells us the additional strategies. they may try to portray the tea party candidates aspeop ly oy candidates aspeop mainstream. michael jackson's mother has filed a lawsuit against the promoter of the singer's comeback concerts. katherine jackson is seeking unspecified damages from the promoter aeg live. she's claiming that the promoter

failed to provide equipment to jackson's physician, conrad murray, that coulde sa his life. murray is not named in th suit. jackson's mother filed the suit on behalf of the superstar's three children it was another day connecticut murder trial. a doctor lived througe brutal attackbut wif two daughters did not. richard cantu reports now on the emotional ca >> reporter: the day after dr. william petit testified about the brutal attack on his family he broke down sobbing in court as jurors were shown photos of the bodies of his two daughters. they died along with their mother when their connecticut nvrs ago. petit was beaten and tied to a pole in his basement but managed to untie his wrists. lle a ie his wrists. neighbor's house for help. surveillance video shows petit's wife, jennifer, at a bank that july 2007 morning, trying to withdraw $15,000 in cash. >> what's your emergency? >> we have a lady who is in our bank right now who says that her husband and children are being

held at their house. >> okay. her husband and family -- >> yes. they're tied up, she said. they told her they wouldn't hurt anybody if she got back there with the money. she believes them. >> reporter: the suspects, stephen hayes and his accomplice, took jennifer hawke-petit back home and sexually assaulted her before killing her. they set fire to the house, killing 17-year-old hayley and 11-year-old michaela. the two suspects crashed into a police cruiser, trying to flee in petit's minivan, and were taken into custody. stephen hayes and joshua komisarjevsky, who's awaiting trial, could get the death penalty. richard cantu, abc news. tropical storm carl is back into t of his carl blew across mexico's yucatan peninsula yesterday, dumping heavy rains on the region's tourist reso the storm is expected to gain strength and slam back into kenength and slam back into meanwhile, hurricanes igor and julia continue to churn out there in the atlantic. igor is now a cat 4 storm and

could hit bermuda directly this weekend. igor's strong winds and potentially dangerous surf should hit the east coast tomorrow. hurricane julia is a category 3 storm but does not at this point threaten land anywhere. >> back to back right now when you look at that weather map. >> this is the height of the season. >> it really is. now he's the rest of your forecase c in nashvill torna are poso clori thunderstorms in west texas and. >> 70 in seattle. 83 in salt lake city. 91 in albuquerque. kansas city will see about 73 degrees. indianapolis 79. 90 in new orleans. 85 in washington, d.c. 70 in beantown. in southern california it is that time of year. the blue whales are migrating past on their way to the warmer waters off of the baja peninsula. >> wow. yesterday between 10 and 15 of these massive mammals were seen cavorting in the pacific near redondo beach. that means it's also high season

for some whale watching. spectators got a close-up look from helicopters and right alongside them in kayaks. brave folks there. >> can you imagine? look at that kayak, how che these whales seem to have a great deal of patience for the humans who, as re, are often hovering around them. it's not our fault. so, wet wnr fault. >> ck w. afts.

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time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a liquid gel. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. when we think of mob families, many think of the sopranos or the corleones from "the godfather." both fictional families but based on american lore and a little bit of truth. >> for one young man, though, a mob family was all too real

because he actually was in one. that's until he risked his life by walking away. bill weir reports. >> reporter: most wise guys quit the mob in one of two ways -- witness relocation or a body bag. but michael franzese has somehow managed to avoid both, and he still gets away with showing his face on the same streets he ruled as captain of the colombo crime family. >> some of the bonannos were around here too in this section. but this was our town. this was us. we had it wrapped up. >> reporter: this mobster turned minister has come back to brooklyn on a mission from god to pay a jailhouse visit to his mafia boss father in an effort to save his soul from hell. and that would be no small feat. because sonny franzese is a living legend of the cosa nostra. fbi wire taps have captured this underboss of the colombos bragging about the dozens of men he's killed and describing his

favorite way to dispose of bodies, using knives, a kiddie pool, and a trash compactor. in 1970 sonny franzese got a 50-year sentence for masterminding a string of bank robberies, a crime michael insists he didn't commit. it was then, on another prison visit, that michael offered to take up the family business. it's no coincidence there's a character named after him in the movie "goodfellas." because by the early '80s he and his crew had established a mythical reputation among new york's five families. >> i'm not going to lie to you. when i was in that life -- you know, people ask me all the time, michael, what do you miss? the money? the power? look, i had a jet plane, i had a helicopter, a lot of things at my disposal. but i miss the camaraderie i had with the guys back then. i mean, we were a tight-knit group. and to me there's nothing more powerful than a brotherhood among guys. >> reporter: two things changed his life -- prison and a woman

named camille. as the feds closed in, he fell in love with this devout christian, accepted her faith and a plea deal. as he served a five-year sentence, he sent word to his dad he was leaving the mob, and the colombos were furious. his father approved a contract on his head. but he didn't reach bottom until a parole violation sent him back inside. >> when they locked me up that night, it was the worst night of my life. and that's the night that i really first time cried out to god and said if you're really up there, you need to help me because i can't deal with this. >> reporter: he spent 29 months in the hole, reading his bible all the while. >> wave to mommy. wave. >> reporter: and after his release he moved to california, grew his family, and at the urging of the fbi began lecturing athletes on the dangers of gambling. >> god forgives us our sins, and tomorrow's a new day. >> reporter: four books and thousands of sermons later he packs megachurches with his tale of redemption. >> there's no blueprint for

leaving the mob the way i did and publicly survive the way i have. so i attribute that to god having a different purpose for me. >> reporter: and that contract on his head? it was never fulfilled. because he never testified against anyone in his former life. >> i don't believe that it's my job to help the government and go around and put people in jail. i don't believe that. i don't think scripture demands that. >> but that seems like the right thing to do, whether t scripture says it or not. honestly don't feel that way. >> reporter: but ironcall own brotherot ae to this code of silence. and that is why their father will likely die in pris >> i would have grabbed carmine and told him, look, you mother [ bleep ], go out there and get the money and bring it here. >> reporter: after the fbi paid him $50,000, john franzese secretly recorded their 93-year-old father. >> no 25,000. and if he don't give it to you, leave him on the floor. >> reporter: it was decisive evidence as sonny was convicted

of shaking down two manhattan strip clubs. >> my dad's brokenhearted. even until half an hour ago when i was with him. he said, "mike, i just can't believe it." he's so hurt over what happened. he just -- that's the part that he can't live with. i believe with all my heart, 1,000%, that god had a different plan and purpose. i don't know where it's going to end. hey, i could walk out the door tomorrow and somebody shoot me in the head. especially in brooklyn. who knows? but -- and if it happens, so be it. then i've fulfilled my purpose and i go to heaven. that's where i believe i'm going anyway. i hope so. >> michael's out on the road right now promoting this latest book iso newrk ay d, daily news" had an article on him in january of this year and it said he wsted now, his defense, he says it was jut antuna misunderstanding. but interesting nonetheless.

♪ ♪ skinny ♪ so skinny

you know, they say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. >> ain't that the truth. >> katy perry is 25 years old, but she obviously is still not happy with at least one guy from her high school class. take a listen. this is what she was doing at a surprise performance at her old high school yesterday. she found someone in the audience who she recognized and listen to what she said. >> is that shane lopes? holy -- you were the most popular kid in my class. you never wanted to date me. it was always amanda wayne. yeah, you really chose right, honey. i dedicate this next one to shane lopes, everyone. it's called "ur so gay." >> so you know, the clever folks over at tmz, they of course went and found the guy, shane lopes, that she's referencing in the audience. and you heard what she said, you

never wanted to date me, you chose poorly, honey, what's up now, playa? the guy went on to say i think she was just trying to embarrass me, i'm engaged now, ironically to my high school sweetheart. and then tmz went as far to say we don't blame the dude be, the fiancee is pretty darn good-looking. >> she is. she looks like it. >> interesting that she had carried that torch and spotted him in the crowd. he was apparently the popular guy. everyone has one of these in their high school. >> there's a high cool story like that where there's always the one -- the one who got way or the one that bullied you or whatever. >> all of them got away from me. so. >> you still made it just fine. interesting story here involving shaq now. he's involved in this kind of weird lawsuit now. he hired this guy to basically do some computer work in his house, but now this guy's turned around and has filed a suit in florida saying that -- accusing shaq of computer hacking, destroying evidence and trying to frame a former employee of

criminal activity. this guy named shawn darling is the one who's filed suit against shaq. he accuses the star of hacking into the voice mail of vanessa lopez, his mistress, who's also in the middle of a lawsuit against shaq, and accusing him of also making illegal contacts in law enforcement to get information about yet another mistress. shaq says oh, no, that is not the story here, that when you're doing computer work for me, basically you hacked into my e-mails and now you're trying to extort me for 12 million bucks, so i don't take those personal communications public. weird case here. so i don't know what's going on. god knows what's into his alough a mistresses and -- - i didn't even realize that w >> yeah. he's a family man. >> what do i know? >> several families. >> of course. really. in "self" magazine sofia vergara, the woman who plays the wife to al bundy on "modern family," she is absolutely stunning. >> ain't that the truth. >> and she's talk

she says she really never felt sexy growin she not only saysshef r chest at age 13. she says she wanted surgery. she to momsoon older please ta away. her mom said you know what, when e odu'lle and the picture you're seeing right now, she's naturally a blond, and she says what would basically happened is she'd go confused and they'd say why does dyer ed and they'd say why does thought, oh, she's a hot latin girl, and she says both the boobs and the hair chahavecf1 3 and i appreciate -- >> i'm shocked in hollywood icer isly cked in hollywood ly, pwatle 's an asset and i accept it. >> that's right! >> willis has no problem with that either. she really is a beautiful woman. >> you know i normally like to hate on beautiful women, but i have to say i really like her. >> you've given her props. >> i like her a lot. >> last story of the day. this is someone you don't like, actually. the real housewife in d.c., michaele, she has a new book

out. she's been accused of having an oshe been accused of having an have an eating disorder, i that's what she's blaming her eigh. z

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here are some stories to watch today on abc news. treasury secretary timothy geithner has a full day on capitol hill today. he is planning to tell two committees that it's time to push china into allowing its currency to appreciate in value against the dollar. secretary of state hillary clinton meets with palestinian and jordanian leaders today after mideast peace talks hit another roadblock. she appears later today on "good morning america." and startling new details about the mortgage crisis. a new report just out says banks repossessed more homes in august than in any other month since the mortgage crisis began. and finally this half hour, climbing over adversity. yosemite national park's el capitan is one of the greatest challenges for climbers. >> so it's not too often you see a climber with a heart bigger than the mountain. you see, this climber has cerebral palsy. here's david muir. >> let's go, dude. you're all -- >> reporter: and with that he

was off. stephen wampler of california, husband and father of two, has cerebral palsy. and on sunday he left his wheelchair to begin the climb of his life. >> steve, how's it going, man? >> long day. seven hours climbing. >> reporter: steve is aiming to become the first person with cerebral palsy to climb the famed el capitan in yosemite national park. he trained for more than a year. each draining pull of that rope bringing him five inches closer to the top. but it is a towering challenge. el capitan is not just one empire state building but two. >> today is brutal. >> reporter: and today, suspended more than 1,000 feet above ground, we called him. hello, steve? hey, it's david muir in new york. how are you? >> good. and you? >> reporter: i guess you're just kind of hanging out. >> if you want to call it that. >> reporter: he's been climbing

and sleeping on capitan for three days now. >> another 650 feet. so you're more than halfway there. >> yes. >> reporter: and none of this is surprising the woman who 15 years ago became steve's wife. >> at first i thought i bet he's having a really hard life. i quickly learned that nothing could be further from the truth. >> reporter: steve has taught everyone he knows disabilities don't have to limit you. this lesson, the tallest of all. >> your wife is going to see this on tv. what do you want to say to her? >> i love you. and i can't wait to get off the top, get off this rock. >> reporter: a laugh from the exhausted climber, still pulling himself up. so many of us now pulling for him. david muir, abc news, new york. >> and if you log on to the world news website with diane

you are good to go. so, have you made your decision yet? yeah, i think so. the wishes of thousands of children are waiting to come true.

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selling sex on the web. >> i have not had a girl that was not marketed online. tough questions for craigslist on capitol hill. >> then catholic confrontation. tonight's papal visit to britain and who's demanding action from the vatican. >> and auto innovation. rethinking the air bag after years of safety studies. it's thursday september 16th. and good importanting, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm vinita nair. craigslist has confirmed to lawmakers it shut down a so-called adult services advertising section on the website. >> now there are concerns that ads selling sex will simply find a new place online. t.j. winick has the details. good morning, t.j. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. craigslist insists its adult section was intended for legitimate adult businesses but law enforcement says otherwise

and wednesday in washington the issue was put under a microscope. on capitol hill lawmakers exposed the seamy underworld of sex trafficking of minors. >> today perpetrators hide behind their personal computers and have a child at their doorstep with the click of a button. >> reporter: no website has been in the cross-hairs of law enforcement more recently than craigslist. the online classified pages used by over 50 million americans, including some who use the site to buy and sell sex. >> i have not had a girl that was not marketed online, and most of them are marketed through craigslist. >> reporter: the site finally shut down its adult services section earlier this month after receiving a letter from 17 state attorneys general. that was in the wake of several disturbing cases such as the so-called craigslist killer, philip markoff. >> the incident of crime related to use of craigslist is extremely low, but despite our best efforts it is not and cannot be zero. >> reporter: despite its censoring of adult businesses, the site not only lists ads for

sex in foreign cities, abc news easily found ads suggesting sex just posted in a different section of the online bulletin board. at the hearing a victim of sex trafficking told her story of abuse. >> the last date it was kind of like a richer client. he offered me like $500 for a couple hours, and i said okay. >> reporter: craigslist has been collecting $10 to $15 for every adult ad, totaling an estimated $36 million a year. rob and vinita? in other news now, michael jackson's mother has filed a lawsuit against aeg live, the promoter of her son's comeback concerts. katherine jackson claims that the promoter failed to provide equipment to jackson's physician, conrad murray, that could have saved his life. murray, though, is not named in the suit. the mother filed the suit on behalf of the superstar's three children. she is seeking unspecified damages.

pope benedict is spending the next four days in britain. it is the only -- it is only, rather, the second time a pope has ever set foot on british soil. >> and the pope will face controversy as he arrives. lama hasan joins us from our london bureau with a preview. good morning, lama. >> good morning to you both. well,er, there is some controversy, but it's also a significant visit as the british prime minister david cameron said this will be an important and historic trip because not since 1982 has a pope visited the united kingdom. and this will be pope benedict xvith first state visit, one that is hoped will be an opportunity to re-energize the roman catholic church here in britain. and it's an expensive trip. the cost is estimated at $18 million plus $2 million just for security. the pontiff has a packed schedule. he will touch down in scotland later this morning. he'll be welcomed by the queen and other members of the royal family at the royal palace in edinburgh. also on his trip, though, benedict xvi is said to be meeting with alleged abuse victims most likely on saturday,

his fifth meeting since becoming leader of the catholic church. >> if i saw the pope now and had anything to say to him, i would demand that he pass over all the documents, gave instructions to the church -- >> i was abused when i was 10 by a priest, catholic priest, who was known to my family. it was the day before my confirmation. i had to go to confession to him on the same day. and no doubt he absolved me of the sins that he'd just committed. >> and later today the pope will deliver a homily at an outdoor mass in glasgow. it is said to be the biggest one on this trip. one note, at this mass susan boyle will be singing what has become her signature song, "i have a dream." she says it's always been her dream to sing in front of the pope. rob and vinita? >> thanks to lama hasan, reporting live this morning from london. thanks. police in oregon are making changes in the search for an 8-year-old boy. kyron horman has been missing since june. police in the portland area say they have spent more than a million dollars looking for the

little boy. police are not saying search is being scaled back, but a smaller task force of eight to ten people is now in charge of the investigation. jurors in a connecticut murder trial have sat through another day of some pretty dramatic testimony. it was so emotionally wrenching the judge ended the day's session by telling the jurors they could give each other a hug. here now is andrea canning. >> reporter: after three long years dr. william petit finally came face to face this week with steven hayes, one of the two men accused of killing his wife and two daughters in a brutal 2007 home invasion. >> i mostly focused on the questions that i was being asked. just tried to do the best i could for my family. >> reporter: in court petit endured the 911 call made by a teller in this bank, where his wife, jennifer, seen here on this surveillance video, was taken by her attackers. >> we have a lady who is in our bank right now who says that her husband and children are being held at their house. the people are in a car outside the bank. she is getting $15,000 to bring

out to them. that if the police are told they will kill the children and the husband. they have their faces covered. she is petrified. they told her they wouldn't hurt anybody if she got back there with the money. she believes them. i think she's walking out now. >> reporter: she walked into the ultimate nightmare. hayes and his accomplice, joshua komisarjevsky, took her home, where she was sexually assaulted. her two children were tied to their beds. her husband was tied to a pole in the basement. dr. petit managed to escape by untying himself and running to his neighbors. so why did it take 33 minutes for the police to arrive to the home? and why didn't they attempt to enter? the police said in court they followed standard hostage procedure by establishing a perimeter around the house rather than entering. they captured them a short time later, after the suspects tried to break through a roadblock, but not before they had set fire to the house and killed the

family. now, as the trial enters its fourth day, the jury continues to hear testimony that will determine whether the two suspects receive the death penalty. andrea canning, abc news, new haven, connecticut. the american woman released after over a year in prison in iran has had her first medical checkup. sarah shourd is now in the gulf nation of oman. her mother says she has serious medical problems, including a lump in her breast. shourd says before she left iranian custody she had a chance to say good-bye to her fellow american prisoners. >> all of my efforts, starting today, are going to go into helping procure the same freedom for my fiance, shane bauer, and for my friend josh fattal because i can't enjoy my freedom without them. >> a prosecutor in iran says shane bauer and josh fattal could go on trial soon. the families are challenging iran's president to bring them home next week when he comes to new york to address the u.n. sea world has added some new safety measures after a trainer's death in orlando in february. new barriers have gone up at shamu stadium.

the florida theme park was fined $75,000 after that fatal accident. trainers there have not interacted with the whales in the water since the deadly incident. wildlife experts in oregon say moses the camel somehow survived after a major ordeal. moses is a 1,500-pound camel who got stuck in a muddy sinkhole tuesday night. the mud nearly eight feet deep. it took two fire engine companies and several sheriff deputies nearly four hours to get the poor guy out. they had to dig several feet down in wet soil in order to get safety lines around the camel. they were concerned about breaking his legs, but they now say he is going to be okay. >> hate when that happens. here's a look now at your weather. fair and dry out in the midwest. from nashville to western new york fierce storms with high winds, hail, and possible flooding. it will be wet in florida, west texas, and in the northwest. >> seasonal temperatures for much of the country, but hot in the south. hotlanta and miami both 88. cooler in the midwest. chicago and minneapolis in the mid 60s.

detroit 72. omaha 72. colorado springs is 87. and portland is 74. a home under construction in washington state has made the list of the top 25 most expensive new homes. >> get ready for the wish list. it is on mercer island near seattle and has seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a 48-foot pool, a spa, an amphitheater, a dock, and why not a boat house too? >> mm-hmm. >> more than 13,000 square feet. word is the owners were building the home as their main residence but they changed their minds and they moved somewhere else. >> oh. must be nice. that means the price actually drops. that means the mansion can be yours for a paltry $28 million. >> that's bargain basement pricing for manhattan. >> just like your crib, willis. more after this. ♪ love shack, baby you go next if you had a

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now to the future of a diet pill that has been on the market for 13 years. >> the drug meridia could be linked to heart failure. and now an fda panel is split right down the middle with what exactly to do with this appetite suppressant. here now is dr. richard besser. >> reporter: the concerns voiced are just the latest chapter in a long quest for a safe and effective weight loss drug. more than 68% of adults are overweight or obese. a leading risk factor for diabetes and heart disease. a safe and effective weight loss pill could save lives but has been an elusive goal for researchers. >> watch out. if someone is promising something that is so powerful, so magic it can cause you to lose weight, it probably has other consequences. >> reporter: but why has it been so difficult for scientists to find this magic combination? here's how it works. the chemicals that regulate appetite, called neurotransmitters, also regulate blood pressure, heart rate,

mood, and other critical body functions. scientists have so far been unable to create a drug that doesn't impact on these other areas. surgery is still the treatment with most clear results for obesity. but that comes with risk as well. headlines were made this week about the fda approving two non-surgical procedures to kill fat inside the body, including zeltiq, which freezes cells, causing them to self-destruct. however, it's important to note these treatments are for cosmetic purposes only. there are no data on how long it lasts. and it is not effective for weight loss. today an fda advisory panel will be considering yet another diet drug, lorquest. the preliminary findings of the fda review are not encouraging. for now there is no easy way to lose weight. it comes back to diet and exercise. dr. richard besser, abc news, new york. >> since this news has come out revenue for the company is actually falling right now and the company doesn't even promote the drug here in the u.s. but is still expected to make 30 million bucks in this country

alone. >> you have to also wonder, there has been a ban in europe. they've already halted, you know, in terms of giving it to patients. you have to wonder if that affected some of the revenue because in europe they're saying it's not a good idea. >> most folks say here the fda will take some action but we'll see down the road. coming up, one automaker tries to reinv

ford has unveiled its newest air bag that is designed to reduce injuries caused by their deployment. the air bags are located in the steering wheel. they promise to reduce injuries like broken ribs. they're designed to pull away from the driver's chest while protecting both the head and the neck. the air bag will be featured in the new ford focus, which goes on sale early next week. while saving many lives in accidents, of course air bags have had a long history of causing injuries. >> one concern in the past was the connection between air bags

and children. for more now we go into the abc news vault from september the 6th, 1996. >> reporter: they are comforting images of safety in action. in slow motion pictures of crash tests the air bags appear to gently unfurl into cushioning pillows. but the reality is far more violent. air bags burst open at speeds of about 200 miles per hour. a powerful force designed to save adult lives but one that can sometimes have devastating consequences for children. the problem is the government requires air bags to deploy with enough speed and force to protect the average man, 5'10", 165 pounds. but that's too powerful if the air bag hits a child. now with millions of cars equipped with passenger-side air bags that front seat is becoming a danger zone for children.

>> as large as the air bag was on the passenger side, to have hit him as hard as it did, i mean, it just slammed him. >> reporter: martha goodman says her 3-year-old grandson max was wearing his seat belt. his extensive head injuries were caused not by the low-speed crash but the air bag, says the doctor who treated him. >> if there had been no air bag, what do you think would have happened to max? >> max would have walked away. >> reporter: max is recovering. but some don't, says louisville university hospital's dr. bill smock, who's been researching the worsening problem since encountering his first air bag-related fatality five years ago. >> i was stunned. i thought here's a safety device that is killing people. >> reporter: these six young victims are among the growing number of children killed by air bags in low-speed crashes while sitting in the front passenger seat, a government investigation finds. in new york four months ago

7-year-old salim sullivan was decapitated by an air bag, prompting transportation secretary frederico pena to sound a nationwide alarm. >> air bags have saved the lives of 1,500 people. but they have resulted in the death of 22 children and infants. this cannot go on. we can't save lives by risking the lives of children. >> reporter: just last weekend an auto industry campaign took to the road to warn parents that all kids from infants to age 12 should ride in the back seat. >> because of the size of the bag and the speed of its inflation, we believe no child should ever be placed in the front seat of a car. >> reporter: while air bag deaths and injuries often involve kids who aren't wearing seat belts or who slipped off the shoulder strap, in the front seat all children are at risk, says the insurance institute's brian o'neil. >> we also are concerned if children are belted but they're

leaning forward, playing with the radio. if you get your head close to this area when the bag begins to deploy, it can cause the very serious injuries and fatalities that we've seen. >> reporter: in vehicles without back seats car makers like ford are introducing an on/off switch for the passenger air bag. and many automakers including mercedes are developing smart air bag systems that would sense the size of the passenger and adjust accordingly. but for now martha goodman puts max in the back, knowing that air bags and kids don't mix. >> this is something most of us haven't even thought about, i think. and it's not just a child problem, is it? >> no. while on balance air bags are a great thing to have in your car, the problem can be not just kids but adults in the front seats. especially short drivers who are sitting close to the steering wheel when that air bag deploys.

there have been serious injuries. and even drivers who keep their hands on the center of the steering wheel. when the air bag deploys, broken bones. the advice, outside of the steering wheel, at least 12 inches back from the wheel as well. >> because it's going a little bit slower when it -- >> that's right. it's deployed by 12 inches usually. >> it is fascinating, something that obviously is designed to protect you and keep you safe, and undoubtedly saved many, many lives, but it's scary too, there's a down side to it as well. >> i think the reality, though, is you often hear about the head and the neck injuries but what people don't realize is a lot of times there's heat injuries as well baus airwhen they're deploying tot t out as fast as the impact of masve at designersied lly everything they can think of including now there are cars, ford launched some with seat belts that actually have the air bags in them -- >> oh, wow. >> -- in 2009. because they're always looking

forveay s jard when the impac thatg hao >> a por s break. stay wit us.

"world news now" delivers your morning papers. >> welcome back, everybody. well, of course this picture kind of caught my attention too -- caught my attention because it's from louisiana here. take a look at this pic and tell me what you think this actually is. most people look at that and think, what? >> gravel road. >> gravel road. no. it is actually hundreds of thousands of dead fish in a waterway in louisiana. now, they do have these things in the gulf this time of year called dead zones. a lack of oxygen. so these kind of fish kills or dead zones are kind of common every now and then just because of the way the water works in that area. but usually just affects one species of fish. in this one, if you can pull that picture back up again, there are dozens of species here, red fish, flounder, trout, even a whale was found in this mess down here. the picture was released by plaquemine's parish president billy nunguess, who's been a very vocal critic of bp down

there. he thinks this was a result, continuing result of all that oil spill. so all the news you hear about all the oil's gone, they're saying you know what, maybe not. hundreds of thousands of fish in a waterway. isn't that incredible? the picture. >> i shudder to think what that thing smells like. >> oh, it's unbelievable. and how they clean that thing up -- >> that's so terrible. >> so anyway. moving on to lighter news. that's disturbing. >> we used to do the paper segment out in the newsroom. we did a couple with you out there. we made some changes. but we amongst everyone know sometimes when you're up at the desk you forget, you dress bottom -- you dress navel up. well, in slovenia these people were doing the end of their news segment, and you're going to see what happened here. basically, the news reader is oblivious to the fact that the cameras are still running. swivels in his chair. yeah. you saw it right there. the moment he swivels you see that the man is in his underwear. no trousers to be seen. >> that would be great to do the news like that. i'd love that.

that would be nice. during the hot summer months. >> you know i go in converse most days. so i understand this man's pain. >> behind the scenes of a tv show is a fascinating -- >> it's always funny because sometimes if you look on local news if you see the weather guy on the far shot if you look he is in shorts. >> oh, yeah. >> watch the local guys. >> people wear jeans all the time, flip-flops. >> people wear jeans all the time, flip-flops. so anyways, the camera -- >> the shot. >> all right here. obviously, we just got past the anniversary of 9/11, and they always here in new york do the lights of -- you know, in the footprint of the world trade center, do the towers of light, which is a beautiful memorial. this year they noticed all these scplas scrhey noticed all these actually, these are birds in they're this time of yea .>> have a great thursday.

making news on this thursday, septembet